


sign on the dotted line

by swancharmings



Category: Suits (US TV)
Genre: F/M, Five Plus One, pre- through post-canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:01:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23625028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swancharmings/pseuds/swancharmings
Summary: “I don’t tell her to do anything. She just does.” // Five times Donna signs Harvey’s name, and one time she signs her own. One-shot.
Relationships: Donna Paulsen/Harvey Specter
Comments: 7
Kudos: 34





	sign on the dotted line

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted by Jane (aSnackForAlways) who graciously allowed my brain to play with this. I hope I did it justice.
> 
> Thank you to my betas, Heather and Alyssa, for everything they do for me and for constantly reading what I write with no complaints and loving support. Also, thank you to Liz (schmorygilmore) who brainstormed with me, this would not be what it is without you!

_ ~ _

_ One. _

_ ~ _

He’s running late, harried and stressed and cursing as papers fly off his desk. His elbow knocks over the full coffee cup that rests precariously on the corner, the hot liquid spilling onto the floor and Harvey kicks the fallen cardboard in frustration.

“Jesus, what’s going on with you today?” Donna stands in the doorway, watching the scene before her unfold with a quirk of her lips, until the visible crease between his brows causes her smile to fade.

Worried brown eyes meet hers. “Did you see my settlement papers?”

“The ones for today?”

His exasperated expression would be funny if he wasn’t so pressed. “No, the ones from last week,” he snaps sarcastically.

Donna crosses her arms. “Harvey.”

She knows him well enough already to understand that he’s nervous and lashing out because this is trial day, and Harvey relies on routine and thorough preparation on trial day. He doesn’t do well with the unexpected.

“Hey, look at me.” The rustling of papers ceases as his head snaps up to hers. Moving toward him, she bends down and thrusts his discarded briefcase into his chest. “You’re going to go to the courthouse, because you’re already late, and I’m going to print a new document and sign it and bring it to you. Okay?”

His jaw locks and sets. “You can’t —“

“Harvey, who do you think has signed all of your timesheets for the last three weeks?”

The barest hint of a smile. “Fair point.”

Donna pushes him out the door. “ _ Go. _ I’ve got this.”

His gaze lingers and her hand rests on his shoulder a second too long, before he nods curtly in thanks and rushes out of the office.

He’s ripping apart the defense when she slides into the row behind him, discreetly handing him the slip of paper with  _ Harvey Specter _ scrawled succinctly on the bottom.

_ ~ _

_ Two. _

_ ~ _

“Where’s Harvey?”

Donna raises her head to greet Jessica with a somber expression. The older woman’s eyes soften for a moment before her lips press into a thin line.

“Well. We have a problem.”

The blue folder presented to Donna reveals a non-disclosure, non-compete, document after document that solidifies Harvey’s senior partnership and her stomach clenches.

“He didn’t have time.” She wills Jessica to understand.

“He needs to make time.”

Donna respects Jessica. Admires her, even, but she admires Harvey more and her need to protect him overpowers any other emotion she feels for the managing partner right now. So she doesn’t hide her annoyance as she closes the folder with a tight smile.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

She won’t call Harvey. He doesn’t need this bureaucratic bullshit, not today. She’s already talked to him twice and she knows he’s on the ropes, balancing between grieving his dad, reconciling with his mom, visiting with Marcus and Katie and dredging up the past that haunts him.

As Jessica turns the corner, Donna clicks open her pen and gets to work.

**_We_ ** _ just made partner. _

It’s a team effort, after all.

_ ~ _

_ Three. _

~

Donna coughs and splutters into the empty shot glass, a giggling Rachel by her side.

“Oh, my God, what did you  _ order _ ?”

Rachel grins wickedly. “Sambuca.”

“Ugh!” Her mouth twists into a grimace. She motions for the bartender with her free hand, deposits the offending shot glass with the other. “Check, please.”

“We haven’t barfed yet!”

“We have to work tomorrow.”

“You mean I have to face Mike tomorrow.”

“Well,” Donna pauses as she flattens the receipt and clicks the pen. “That, too.”

Rachel moans into her hands until she suddenly remembers something. “Hang on — why are you signing?”

“What do you mean?”

“This is  _ Harvey’s corporate card _ ,” Rachel hisses.

“ _ I know _ ,” Donna stage-whispers back. Her friend’s mouth drops open.

“You sign for him?”

Donna hums, crossing the T in  _ Specter _ with practiced ease. “The man sends me shopping with his credit cards.  _ Of course _ I learned to sign for him.”

The past participle in that sentence doesn’t cut it, and Rachel gives her a look.

“What?!”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“Okay, we’re not having this discussion again.” It’s not necessary, more habit than anything else, but she swipes the carbon copy off the table when Rachel turns away.

“Thank you for the drinks,  _ Mrs. Specter _ ,” Rachel sing-songs as they leave the bar.

Donna doesn’t correct her.

It’s the alcohol.

_ ~ _

_ Four. _

_ ~ _

_ Do you know how hard it is for me to swallow my pride and come over here? _

_ Do you know how hard it is for me to say no to you? _

The client is here, Harvey is not, Jessica is beyond pissed and Donna’s foot taps against her cubicle — her new, unfamiliar cubicle — with nervous energy and rational thought rapidly dissipating with each passing second.

She is not Harvey Specter’s secretary anymore.

His meetings are his own problem now.

If he can’t be bothered to show up for work, that is not her responsibility.

_ Fuck it  _ — she looks over her shoulder, checks that Louis is preoccupied before bringing up his calendar. One look won’t hurt.

It’s blocked out for an hour with no address.

_ What the hell? _

Knowing Harvey, it’s important. And it’s not a  _ morning meeting —  _ those never make it onto his calendar. She would know.

Donna sighs. Minimizes the screen and swivels around in her chair.

She won’t do it.

No way in hell is she going to do it.

The words  _ outside counsel  _ filter down the hall, and she springs into action involuntarily.

Her tentative knock on the door draws all eyes to her. She clears her throat.

“I’m so sorry, Mr. Specter had an emergency this morning and couldn’t make it. I have the paperwork right here.”

_ Harvey Specter  _ stands out in bright blue ink. The client shakes her hand in gratitude. Jessica gives her a knowing look.

He’s Harvey. She’s Donna. He needed her. And that’s that.

Later, she catches him loitering at the far corner of Louis’s office. The silent  _ thank you _ radiates off him in waves.

Donna simply nods and resumes typing.

_ ~ _

_ Five. _

_ ~ _

She signs his name on the bottom of her transfer request.

_ I want something more. _

Maybe this isn’t what she meant, but it’s  _ something _ — not the  _ more  _ she dreams about, but the  _ more  _ she already knows she can achieve. That she  _ has  _ achieved.

This fact is so obvious to her that it’s why she signed his name in the first place.

This is what she deserves.

Donna confronts him in the lobby with her request, the one thing she’s asked for in thirteen years, and she is shocked when he all but tells her he has to  _ think about it _ .

A day later, and the form goes in the shredder with his forgotten promise.

———

“You’re going to make one hell of a COO.”

His grip tightens imperceptibly and Donna’s cheeks hurt from smiling.

“Thank you, Harvey.” She wipes her hands on her dress and presses the button to restart her laptop. “I’ll put in my transfer request in the morning.”

He closes the screen, palm resting flat on the cover.

“I’ll take care of it.”

A quiet chuckle escapes her throat. “Do you know where to download the form?”

“No.”

“Do you know what my employee code is?”

“No, but —“ he smirks, “—that’s why I’m hiring you.”

Donna rolls her eyes. “See? This is what I do, Harvey. I don’t mind.”

He’s hesitating. “Let me sign it.”

The depth of his gaze penetrates her. “Why?”

A pause.

“This is important.”

The simple sentence holds enough weight for her to finish that bottle of wine burning a hole in her cabinet.

Harvey doesn’t bother signing his own name to timesheets, administrative court documents, independence checks, or anything else she’s forged for him over the years.

But he’ll sign this for her.

_ ~ _

_ Six. _

_ ~ _

Donna’s hands shake as she twirls the pen between her fingers. Not from fear or apprehension, but from the inexorable magnitude of the moment.

“We just need a signature on this line here, and we’re all set.” The woman stares blankly at her from across the counter.

A few letters on a dotted line, and it’s done.

It means absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things, and she knows it. A flimsy piece of paper has nothing on what they have.

She  _ wants  _ to do this. In fact, she insisted on it. Harvey left it up to her and this is what she wants.

_ Donna Paulsen-Specter  _ leaves her hand, meticulous and effortless all at once.

As she blinks at the cursive, she thinks she should be used to it by now. But this isn’t Harvey’s name. It’s her name.

It’s  _ their _ name.

She hands back the form with a smile.

She’s been  _ Specter  _ for years. But it’s always nice to make it official.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! Comments and critiques are welcomed :)


End file.
